Sunday, October 19, 2014

Lab Worker Aboard Cruise Ship Tests Negative For Ebola Virus

The woman is a lab supervisor
at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital which
handled samples from a Liberian man who died after contracting the
Ebola virus. She was a passenger aboard the Carnival Magic when it left Galveston, Texas on October 12 destined for Belize and Cozumel, Mexico.

While
the cruise was underway, the U.S. Center for Disease Control notified
Carnival Cruise Lines on October 15 that she was aboard the Carnival Magic. Although the woman did not exhibit any symptoms or signs of and Ebola infection, she remained in isolation on board the ship.

When Mexican authorities learned of a passenger on board the Carnival Magic who might have been exposed to the Ebola virus, the ship, along with its 3,652 passengers and 981 crew members, were denied entry into Cozumel around noon Eastern Time on October 17. That's when Carnival made the decision for the ship to proceed back to Galveston
to ensure the ship arrived there on time on Sunday morning.

A
U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flew to the ship on Saturday, October 18,
to take a blood sample from the woman before the ship docked in
Galveston. That sample tested negative for the Ebola virus, according to the Galveston County Health Authority.

According to Carnival, the Carnival Magic docked
into Galveston at approximately 4.30 a.m. and healthcare authorities
boarded the ship to conduct a final health screening of the woman.

The Galveston County Health Authority later made the assessment that there was no evidence of a public health threat to cruise passengers or to Galveston County. The
woman and her traveling companion were then allowed to leave the ship
and return home without restrictions.

Although
no special cleaning of the ship has been requested by U.S. health
officials, Carnival said in a statement that the ship will undergo an
aggressive cleaning and sanitation initiative before guests are allowed
to board the ship for the next voyage.

Carnival
added that it will not allow passengers or crew who have visited
Guinea, Sierra Leone, or Liberia within 21 day to board any of its
cruise ships.

The
recent spread of the Ebola virus in the U.S. and abroad is starting to
affect the tourism and travel industry as potential travelers and
vacationers re-think their future travel plans.

The
cruise
ship industry and their related stocks are being hit
particularly hard despite a drop in fuel prices. Carnival Cruise Line
stock has been under pressure for the past few weeks after the cruise
giant had to change itineraries due to Ebola outbreaks in west Africa. Airline
stocks are also taking a tumble due to passenger fears of contracting
travel-related Ebola.

"I think that cruise ships might be the most vulnerable of the
travel and leisure cohort, maybe even more than airplanes, which
themselves have a huge problem. It's simply disruptive to their
business," said CNBC financial commentator Jim Cramer.

Ebola Facts:

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. The average fatality rate is around 50%.

The
virus was originally transmitted to people in Africa from non-human
primates (such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) and then spread
into the human population through human-to-human transmission.

The
2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history. There have been cases
reported in the U.S., Spain, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and
Sierra Leone.

Although
some cruise ships have a ship's registry in West Africa, this does not
neccesarily mean that the ship has recently traveled to West Africa.

There is no FDA-approved vaccine available for Ebola.

The CDC recommends the following tips to prevent Ebola contamination:

Practice
careful hygiene. For example, wash your hands with soap and water or an
alcohol-based hand sanitizer and avoid contact with blood and body
fluids.

Do not handle items that may have come in contact with
an infected person’s blood or body fluids (such as clothes, bedding,
needles, and medical equipment).

Avoid funeral or burial rituals that require handling the body of someone who has died from Ebola.